Pro Bono
Pro Bono at Warwick serves the dual purpose of giving volunteers the opportunity to understand how the legal system works in practice as well as make a substantial and long-lasting contribution to society. We co-ordinate and promote twelve pro bono activities which gives our members the opportunity of working at a variety of institutions on a large array of issues. This can range from working as a case worker for an important asylum hearing to encouraging school students to put forward their views on contemporary issues to campaigning for penal reform. Not only do participants get to engage with important legal issues but they also get to find an outlet for their creative energies. It is for this reason we were able to attract over 400 volunteers last year! It should also be mentioned that engaging in Pro Bono activities is a good way of demonstrating key skills that employers look for, such as communication, leadership and team work. In fact, Pro Bono activities have begun to gain such prominence that many employers and Bar Associations now expect lawyers to contribute a minimum number of pro bono service hours each year.
Last year was a particularly active one for Pro Bono and we were very pleased to find that our work has been appreciated outside of the University. A high point to date was at the LawWorks & Attorney General Student Awards 2010, where one of our members, Natasha Latiff, the founder of Femin-Itijihad won the "Best Contribution by an Individual Student" award and YOU*th Inspire was short-listed for the "Best New Pro Bono Activity" award. A Warwick team, including our outgoing Pro Bono officer, won the Bar Pro Bono Unit Law School Challenge by fund-raising the most money for BPBU. This year, we hope to build on the successes of last year and introduce further new initiatives.
On the sidebar we have a short overview of our projects and hopefully as you will go through them you will come to appreciate our work in the local community and will be encouraged to sign up.
This year, our Pro Bono Officers are Lucy and Morshed so if you have any questions, email them at pro_bono@warwicklawsociety.com. They will endeavor to respond to all emails within 48 hours.
Julia Kerr Prize for Human Rights and the Law
This prize is organised by the Warwick Law School Centre for Human Rights and was generously founded in the memory of Julia Kerr a graduate of the Law School in 1975.
Each December, a prize of GBP500 will be awarded to the student who has, in that calendar year, best demonstrated the use of skills and knowledge gained at Warwick Law School to make an important contribution to human rights in the community (local, national, or international) as a participant in activities arranged through the Law School.
Individual students who are still registered with the University of Warwick will be considered for the award on receipt of an application.
To apply, go: Here
The Warwick Advantage Award is open to any student or recent graduate from the University of Warwick. You must have been significantly involved in at least one activity outside of your degree for a minimum of one term.
The award application covers four areas:
o Involvement, inclusion & interaction
o Teamwork & leadership skills
o Community
o Events and initiatives
For each area you will be asked to show how you have demonstrated the criteria and to reflect on the experiences.
Successful applicants will be invited to the awards party in Term 3, and will receive a certificate signed by the Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Michael Whitby.
There is also a Warwick Advantage Gold Award which seeks to recognize those students who have really gone above and beyond in their activities, by activities such as coordinating WSAF, WIDS or OWW, organising major long-running campaigns, or setting up a charity. To be eligible for the Gold Award you need to have completed the Warwick Advantage Award, but you can do both at the same time if needed. Gold Award applicants must have been extensively involved in their activity for at least one year.
Since last year, Warwick Advantage has added an international dimension to their awards with the Warwick Global Advantage Award. The Global Award is a way of formally recognizing those students who are willing to invest time and effort in developing their global capabilities which focus on skills highly valued by employers including openness and flexibility, building relationships, communicating across cultures and personal growth. Students can demonstrate the capabilities through a variety of activities which go beyond the normal demands of their degree course. These include work experience or volunteering in an overseas country, student societies or community activities which bring students into contact with people from other nationalities and international research projects. This too has a Gold Award which is for those who have made a significant contribution to a project with an international or intercultural flavor for more than a year.
For more information on the Awards and how to apply please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/advantage/award/
The Undergraduate Research Scholarship Scheme provides an opportunity to undergraduates to conduct research on a topic of their choice under the supervision of a department and/or staff member. The Reinvention Centre and Student Careers and Skills provide guidance and briefing sessions on how best to achieve objectives but most importantly pay research bursaries of up to GBP 1000 and an opportunity to publish your work. While students can pursue almost any topic they are interested in, in terms of Pro Bono, we would encourage members to apply for research projects that would engage in issues such as social justice, multi-culturalism and sustainable development. If those short-term projects were successful, it might be possible for Pro Bono to expand and build on it in the future as we were able to do with Natasha Latiff and her URSS Project - Femin-Itijihad .
For more information on the Scheme and how to apply please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/urss/scheme/. If you have any specific questions about undertaking a URSS Project, feel free to send Morshed (m.mannan@warwick.ac.uk) an email as he completed a Project last year.
The Lord Rootes Memorial Fund is intended to encourage student enterprise and effort and to support projects by individual and groups of Warwick students, especially projects:
- Involving observation and the intelligent use of experience in the scientific, cultural, environmental or business context.
- Demonstrating creativity of thought and the development of an original and personal idea or objective.
These study projects are conducted during the summer and can concern a number of pro-bono related issues. Projects have ranged from studying the effectiveness of humanitarian intervention in Sierra Leone to Indigenous Emancipation in Chiapas, Mexico to a Cultural Study on the discourse regarding the Death Penalty in Texas. Not only does this allow individuals/groups/societies to conduct a field study on a topic of their interest but as the grant is often larger (GBP 100 to GBP 3,000) than that offered to URSS Scholars, there are greater opportunities to travel abroad. While we strongly encourage our members to apply individually, Pro Bono will also be looking to apply for the Fund this year with a selected group and details of this will be announced in Term 1.
For further details about the fund please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/topic/teachinglearning/rootes/
Pro Bono at Warwick serves the dual purpose of giving volunteers the opportunity to understand how the legal system works in practice as well as make a substantial and long-lasting contribution to society. We co-ordinate and promote twelve pro bono activities which gives our members the opportunity of working at a variety of institutions on a large array of issues. This can range from working as a case worker for an important asylum hearing to encouraging school students to put forward their views on contemporary issues to campaigning for penal reform. Not only do participants get to engage with important legal issues but they also get to find an outlet for their creative energies. It is for this reason we were able to attract over 400 volunteers last year! It should also be mentioned that engaging in Pro Bono activities is a good way of demonstrating key skills that employers look for, such as communication, leadership and team work. In fact, Pro Bono activities have begun to gain such prominence that many employers and Bar Associations now expect lawyers to contribute a minimum number of pro bono service hours each year.
Last year was a particularly active one for Pro Bono and we were very pleased to find that our work has been appreciated outside of the University. A high point to date was at the LawWorks & Attorney General Student Awards 2010, where one of our members, Natasha Latiff, the founder of Femin-Itijihad won the "Best Contribution by an Individual Student" award and YOU*th Inspire was short-listed for the "Best New Pro Bono Activity" award. A Warwick team, including our outgoing Pro Bono officer, won the Bar Pro Bono Unit Law School Challenge by fund-raising the most money for BPBU. This year, we hope to build on the successes of last year and introduce further new initiatives.
On the sidebar we have a short overview of our projects and hopefully as you will go through them you will come to appreciate our work in the local community and will be encouraged to sign up.
This year, our Pro Bono Officers are Lucy and Morshed so if you have any questions, email them at pro_bono@warwicklawsociety.com. They will endeavor to respond to all emails within 48 hours.
Julia Kerr Prize for Human Rights and the Law
This prize is organised by the Warwick Law School Centre for Human Rights and was generously founded in the memory of Julia Kerr a graduate of the Law School in 1975.
Each December, a prize of GBP500 will be awarded to the student who has, in that calendar year, best demonstrated the use of skills and knowledge gained at Warwick Law School to make an important contribution to human rights in the community (local, national, or international) as a participant in activities arranged through the Law School.
Individual students who are still registered with the University of Warwick will be considered for the award on receipt of an application.
To apply, go: Here
Warwick Advantage
The Warwick Advantage Award is open to any student or recent graduate from the University of Warwick. You must have been significantly involved in at least one activity outside of your degree for a minimum of one term.
The award application covers four areas:
o Involvement, inclusion & interaction
o Teamwork & leadership skills
o Community
o Events and initiatives
For each area you will be asked to show how you have demonstrated the criteria and to reflect on the experiences.
Successful applicants will be invited to the awards party in Term 3, and will receive a certificate signed by the Pro Vice Chancellor for Teaching and Learning, Michael Whitby.
There is also a Warwick Advantage Gold Award which seeks to recognize those students who have really gone above and beyond in their activities, by activities such as coordinating WSAF, WIDS or OWW, organising major long-running campaigns, or setting up a charity. To be eligible for the Gold Award you need to have completed the Warwick Advantage Award, but you can do both at the same time if needed. Gold Award applicants must have been extensively involved in their activity for at least one year.
Since last year, Warwick Advantage has added an international dimension to their awards with the Warwick Global Advantage Award. The Global Award is a way of formally recognizing those students who are willing to invest time and effort in developing their global capabilities which focus on skills highly valued by employers including openness and flexibility, building relationships, communicating across cultures and personal growth. Students can demonstrate the capabilities through a variety of activities which go beyond the normal demands of their degree course. These include work experience or volunteering in an overseas country, student societies or community activities which bring students into contact with people from other nationalities and international research projects. This too has a Gold Award which is for those who have made a significant contribution to a project with an international or intercultural flavor for more than a year.
For more information on the Awards and how to apply please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/advantage/award/
URSS
The Undergraduate Research Scholarship Scheme provides an opportunity to undergraduates to conduct research on a topic of their choice under the supervision of a department and/or staff member. The Reinvention Centre and Student Careers and Skills provide guidance and briefing sessions on how best to achieve objectives but most importantly pay research bursaries of up to GBP 1000 and an opportunity to publish your work. While students can pursue almost any topic they are interested in, in terms of Pro Bono, we would encourage members to apply for research projects that would engage in issues such as social justice, multi-culturalism and sustainable development. If those short-term projects were successful, it might be possible for Pro Bono to expand and build on it in the future as we were able to do with Natasha Latiff and her URSS Project - Femin-Itijihad .
For more information on the Scheme and how to apply please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/skills/urss/scheme/. If you have any specific questions about undertaking a URSS Project, feel free to send Morshed (m.mannan@warwick.ac.uk) an email as he completed a Project last year.
Lord Rootes Memorial Fund
The Lord Rootes Memorial Fund is intended to encourage student enterprise and effort and to support projects by individual and groups of Warwick students, especially projects:
- Involving observation and the intelligent use of experience in the scientific, cultural, environmental or business context.
- Demonstrating creativity of thought and the development of an original and personal idea or objective.
These study projects are conducted during the summer and can concern a number of pro-bono related issues. Projects have ranged from studying the effectiveness of humanitarian intervention in Sierra Leone to Indigenous Emancipation in Chiapas, Mexico to a Cultural Study on the discourse regarding the Death Penalty in Texas. Not only does this allow individuals/groups/societies to conduct a field study on a topic of their interest but as the grant is often larger (GBP 100 to GBP 3,000) than that offered to URSS Scholars, there are greater opportunities to travel abroad. While we strongly encourage our members to apply individually, Pro Bono will also be looking to apply for the Fund this year with a selected group and details of this will be announced in Term 1.
For further details about the fund please visit: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/topic/teachinglearning/rootes/
